Introducing The Clubhouse 🏓 – Bringing the Table Tennis Community Together!

[NDH]

Hi everyone! 👋​

Some of you will know me from here, and some of you will have met me in person over the years.

I've been working on something for a little while now, and I'm finally ready to share it with you.

Welcome to The Clubhouse.

🌐 https://clubhousett.com

First things first – it's not another table tennis forum!

TTD is already a fantastic place for that, and I have absolutely no intention of competing with it. This is still the place to debate the merits of different wood plies, argue about which rubber is 3% bouncier, and spend £200 trying to solve a problem that probably requires a coaching session. 😂

The Clubhouse is something a little different.

The idea is simple: to bring table tennis people together, wherever they happen to play.

Some of you might remember the gathering in Düsseldorf earlier this year. What started with a few friendships made through table tennis turned into around 30 people from around 10 countries travelling to Germany to play, socialise, share a few drinks and generally have a brilliant time.

For me, it reinforced something I've always loved about this sport. The friendships, the characters, the shared experiences and the connections that can stretch right across the world.

I'd love to see more gatherings like Düsseldorf in the future. But equally, The Clubhouse isn't about organising huge international events.

It might be five people meeting up for a knock. It might be discovering a club when you're travelling. It might simply be following the stories and experiences of people playing the same sport on the other side of the world (and the possibility of sharing your own!)

You don't need to be a great player, travel internationally, or know anybody already involved.

If table tennis is your thing, The Clubhouse is for you.

And this is just the beginning...​

The website is live, membership is free, and there's already some content and a few things to explore.

But I want to be clear – this is very much the beginning of the journey.

I've got lots of ideas for where it could go, new features, stories, events and ways to connect people. Some will arrive sooner than others, and I'm sure the community will help shape ideas I haven't even thought of yet.

That's actually why I'm posting now, rather than waiting until everything is finished.

I'd love people to get involved right at the start, become Founding Members, and help shape what The Clubhouse becomes.

There isn't a grand commercial launch behind this. It's something I've created because I genuinely love the sport and the people I've met through it.

I'd be delighted to see some familiar TTD faces joining, and hopefully plenty of new ones too.

Have a look, sign up if you fancy being part of it, and please feel free to tell me what you think.

https://clubhousett.com

Wherever you play, you belong. 🏓

 

[Lazer]

Have a question for you.
Just signed up.
Can someone else use my membership card to log in or is it tied to a specific address?

Cheers
L-zt

 

[NDH]

Have a question for you.
Just signed up.
Can someone else use my membership card to log in or is it tied to a specific address?

Cheers
L-zt

Welcome to the club!

I really appreciate you joining so early!

It's tied to your email address - So next time you (or someone else) tries to login, it'll send a code to your email.

Happy for you to share it, but equally happy for anyone to join up right now (friends, family etc) - It's not exclusive for TTD members

 

[Lazer]

Welcome to the club!

I really appreciate you joining so early!

It's tied to your email address - So next time you (or someone else) tries to login, it'll send a code to your email.

Happy for you to share it, but equally happy for anyone to join up right now (friends, family etc) - It's not exclusive for TTD members

Thats a great system, you dont have to remember a lit of passwords. Perfect…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[NDH]

Thats a great system, you dont have to remember a lit of passwords. Perfect…

Cheers
L-zr

It's early days - I'm very open to feedback, ideas or just anything you'd like to see.

I'd love to shine a spotlight on small clubs and leagues around the world (or big ones that people don't know about).

Table tennis feels like such a fragmented sport, both in the UK and abroad.... It would be great to have a global club that could bring some unity to the sport and make people feel part of something bigger!

 

[Der_Echte]

I have doing TT meetups over the years and chronicled them on the forums, pretty much on TTD exclusively the last ten years. (anyone remember the Goon Squad?)

This site promotes this, yes?

If I go anywhere outside where I live, and will be there long enough to do TT, I always advertise it.

The last ten years, I have been based north of Sacramento California. Maybe next year in 2027 summer, I retire again and move to south of Los Angelas. in Laguna Woods, there is a HUGE 55+ retirement community and their TT club has 500 members, which is the largest membership of any TT club in USA.

The Board has interviewed and evaluated me to become a coach there - they approved me as club coach since a few months ago. I drive down there once a month to coach for a few days until I retire again and move down there.

There are a ton of clubs in the LA area, a paradise for TT - a great place for TT meetups.

If the site promotes this, I will join.

 

[NDH]

I have doing TT meetups over the years and chronicled them on the forums, pretty much on TTD exclusively the last ten years. (anyone remember the Goon Squad?)

This site promotes this, yes?

If I go anywhere outside where I live, and will be there long enough to do TT, I always advertise it.

The last ten years, I have been based north of Sacramento California. Maybe next year in 2027 summer, I retire again and move to south of Los Angelas. in Laguna Woods, there is a HUGE 55+ retirement community and their TT club has 500 members, which is the largest membership of any TT club in USA.

The Board has interviewed and evaluated me to become a coach there - they approved me as club coach since a few months ago. I drive down there once a month to coach for a few days until I retire again and move down there.

There are a ton of clubs in the LA area, a paradise for TT - a great place for TT meetups.

If the site promotes this, I will join.

Well, firstly - You are absolutely welcome to join - We've known each other forever (in online forum terms).

From a "global marketing" point of view, there are still things to work out.

Given your example above - I'd love to have a "Spotlight" section in the news, and it could highlight your club, the things you get up to etc - Think of it an editorial type article - It could easily serve as a great reference point if you needed to show others what to expect at your club.

Is it the kind of site that will be able to accommodate "updates" and constant "posts" etc? No, not really - I don't want it to become a noticeboard, a forum, or anything like that.

Have an upcoming tour or meet up etc? Absolutely!

The Clubhouse can be a global club for people, even if they are already part of 1, 2 or any number of local clubs!

 

[victormanriquey]

I ll sign up for sure, we sort of did this a couple weeks ago in Gouda always a great thing to meet and play!

@Haito was organising now one in krakow in march next year not sure how this fits in there @NDH

 

[NDH]

I ll sign up for sure, we sort of did this a couple weeks ago in Gouda always a great thing to meet and play!

@Haito was organising now one in krakow in march next year not sure how this fits in there @NDH

Yes I saw! And I think that is *exactly* the sort of thing The Clubhouse could be (well, part of it!)

Just imagine visiting a country, or having people visit you and all feeling a part of the same club..... No issue organising, just a much better experience!

March could be awkward for me, but I'm trying (I've spoken to Haito already )

 

[victormanriquey]

Yes I saw! And I think that is *exactly* the sort of thing The Clubhouse could be (well, part of it!)

Just imagine visiting a country, or having people visit you and all feeling a part of the same club..... No issue organising, just a much better experience!

March could be awkward for me, but I'm trying (I've spoken to Haito already )

Ah nice! Id like to come too, so lets see how it can be done, but the more the merrier! Gouda meetup was so much fun and it was just 4 of us Great initiative and let's go!

 

[ThePongCommenter]

TTD is already a fantastic place for that, and I have absolutely no intention of competing with it. This is still the place to debate the merits of different wood plies, argue about which rubber is 3% bouncier, and spend £200 trying to solve a problem that probably requires a coaching session. 😂

Is it? It seems to me that this place has become increasingly overrun with personal grudges that manage to bleed into almost every thread. Constant passive-aggressive jabs about disagreements that happened months, sometimes years, ago, even when the discussion is about something completely unrelated, like a current tournament.

Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of disagreements here, and I'm certainly not above the occasional cheeky remark. That's part of being on a forum. But there's a difference between having disagreements and making them a permanent fixture of your interactions with other members long after the expiration date. When the same group of people (yes, group) repeatedly drag old disputes into virtually every discussion, it stops being amusing and starts becoming exhausting.

What's particularly disappointing is that some of the most prolific contributors are guilty of perpetuating exactly this behavior. It sets the tone for everyone else.

 

[tokatci]

Is it? It seems to me that this place has become increasingly overrun with personal grudges that manage to bleed into almost every thread. Constant passive-aggressive jabs about disagreements that happened months, sometimes years, ago, even when the discussion is about something completely unrelated, like a current tournament.

Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of disagreements here, and I'm certainly not above the occasional cheeky remark. That's part of being on a forum. But there's a difference between having disagreements and making them a permanent fixture of your interactions with other members long after the expiration date. When the same group of people (yes, group) repeatedly drag old disputes into virtually every discussion, it stops being amusing and starts becoming exhausting.

What's particularly disappointing is that some of the most prolific contributors are guilty of perpetuating exactly this behavior. It sets the tone for everyone else.

I have a pretty similar impression of this website.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

I have a pretty similar impression of this website.

It's pretty obvious to anyone who can take a step back and look at the big picture. Ironically, there was a thread 3 months ago that has now been closed where users called for change in both regular commenter and moderator behavior but zero progress has been made and those complaints from August still ring true.

It's also obvious many users have stepped away from this forum and likely many more have chosen not to join this forum, because of those reasons.

I wonder if @NDH setting up this new platform has anything to do with trying to change the vibes around here or if its completely unrelated.

 

[NDH]

Is it? It seems to me that this place has become increasingly overrun with personal grudges that manage to bleed into almost every thread. Constant passive-aggressive jabs about disagreements that happened months, sometimes years, ago, even when the discussion is about something completely unrelated, like a current tournament.

Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of disagreements here, and I'm certainly not above the occasional cheeky remark. That's part of being on a forum. But there's a difference between having disagreements and making them a permanent fixture of your interactions with other members long after the expiration date. When the same group of people (yes, group) repeatedly drag old disputes into virtually every discussion, it stops being amusing and starts becoming exhausting.

What's particularly disappointing is that some of the most prolific contributors are guilty of perpetuating exactly this behavior. It sets the tone for everyone else.

I'm not a spokesman for TTD. I'm a "moderator" in the sense I can take action on reports etc - But I have always believed in the lightest touch possible, and will always try and let things go where possible.

Do I think this is still the place for discussion? Well, unless you can show me a better alternative (and by my own admission, I don't look elsewhere), then I would say it is? Although my point in the post is more that The Clubhouse *won't* be another forum or such 😊

I have a pretty similar impression of this website.

Not sure if you meant the Clubhouse or if you meant TTD here?

It's pretty obvious to anyone who can take a step back and look at the big picture. Ironically, there was a thread 3 months ago that has now been closed where users called for change in both regular commenter and moderator behavior but zero progress has been made and those complaints from August still ring true.

It's also obvious many users have stepped away from this forum and likely many more have chosen not to join this forum, because of those reasons.

I wonder if @NDH setting up this new platform has anything to do with trying to change the vibes around here or if its completely unrelated.

I really can't speak to others - I've never been a prolific poster/commentator (as you'll see from the number of comments I've made vs the time I've spent here!)

And no, The Clubhouse is completely unrelated to anything else - I have no intention of trying to change anyone here, and the two websites offer very different things.

But what I will say, is that when people do meet up, share stories, and treat each other with respect.... It's a wonderful experience.

I've been on two international trips to meet people from this forum, and both have been incredible - I'd love for more to do the same, but even if they didn't, I'd love for there to be a sense of belonging to a club that has a wider reach.

So, in a nutshell.... Nothing to do with TTD - You are very welcome to join (not really much to "see" at the moment, but this is just the beginning).

 

[ThePongCommenter]

But I have always believed in the lightest touch possible, and will always try and let things go where possible.

Normally I'd agree. With the way things have gotten here, I can't agree anymore. All the most active posters are taking their personal beefs into every new tournament thread and injecting passive aggressive toxicity every way I look. Clearly others are affected. There was lots of evidence on the now-closed thread from August that people are fed up with the state of the forum, with several former regulars announcing their decision to leave, several former regulars leaving unannounced, some saying that they were not inclined to post due to rude welcomes, and countless more who are probably driven away from this forum if they ever had a thought of starting to contribute initially, but nothing seems to have changed.

 

[NDH]

Normally I'd agree. With the way things have gotten here, I can't agree anymore. All the most active posters are taking their personal beefs into every new tournament thread and injecting passive aggressive toxicity every way I look. Clearly others are affected. There was lots of evidence on the now-closed thread from August that people are fed up with the state of the forum, with several former regulars announcing their decision to leave, several former regulars leaving unannounced, some saying that they were not inclined to post due to rude welcomes, and countless more who are probably driven away from this forum if they ever had a thought of starting to contribute initially, but nothing seems to have changed.

I don’t want to sound dismissive, I’m a moderator for my sins and I appreciate that carries some weight to it.

However, could I ask you to make a new thread if you have ideas on the direction you’d like to see this forum take, or just some general ideas?

Feel free to message the mods directly as well if you’d prefer.

Otherwise every thread just takes a similar pattern, and this one is especially about promoting the good that can come from the online community, and not about bemoaning what has gone on in the past (especially as the clubhouse is not affiliated with any other online community).

 

[Novarac23]

hi just fyi I tried to sign up and did not get the code 😬

 

[ThePongCommenter]

I don’t want to sound dismissive, I’m a moderator for my sins and I appreciate that carries some weight to it.

However, could I ask you to make a new thread if you have ideas on the direction you’d like to see this forum take, or just some general ideas?

Feel free to message the mods directly as well if you’d prefer.

Otherwise every thread just takes a similar pattern, and this one is especially about promoting the good that can come from the online community, and not about bemoaning what has gone on in the past (especially as the clubhouse is not affiliated with any other online community).

Tried both of those ideas already. Unfortunately the most relevant thread that I'd like to post in is locked for replies for no clear reason, so please re-open it so we don't have redundant threads and so I can reference some of what was discussed in 10 pages there.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/a-better-forum-via-better-moderation.39768

Otherwise every thread just takes a similar pattern, and this one is especially about promoting the good that can come from the online community, and not about bemoaning what has gone on in the past (especially as the clubhouse is not affiliated with any other online community).

This is exactly what I am trying to raise to moderator attention, as the tournament threads in recent months have gotten absolutely polluted by the same group of people bemoaning other people's past posts months after the fact, passive aggressive jabs that serve no useful purpose to discussion except for to beat a dead horse and lead to an endless one upping competition that seems to be spanning years here at this point.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

the clubhouse; sounds like a place of elderly distinguished gentlemen's drinking spot; such as Nigel , Percy or Manfred and the likes in bespoke tailored suits drinking Beefeater with Tonic and slice of lemon.

 

[NDH]

the clubhouse; sounds like a place of elderly distinguished gentlemen's drinking spot; such as Nigel , Percy or Manfred and the likes in bespoke tailored suits drinking Beefeater with Tonic and slice of lemon.
View attachment 44138

It’s just the place for you, Gozo.

Can’t think of anyone better than to host a little Clubhouse meet up in the future!